Kirtan chanteuse Sat Kartar couples two of her signature celestial compositions with her angelic, soulful vocals to create a meditative sojourn of sacred mystery and joy into expansive realms.

About the Pran Sutra

This recording of the Pran (life force, in the breath) Sutra (sentence or statement of infinite wisdom) is a musically journey of passing from this earth, and was inspired by a lecture Yogi Bhajan gave, during Woman’s Camp in the 1980’s, on the process of how we die, and the journey a soul makes from this earthly plane to the next place, beyond life as we know it. He gave the practice of the Pran Sutra, as a tool to help us prepare for the moment when we take our last breath, and the steps we will walk on the journey to our eternal home.

About the Narayan Shabad

Narayan is one of the many different names for the Divine. It relates to the quality of water. As a plant needs water for its flowers to blossom, in the same way chanting Narayan nurtures the Divine Identity within you so that your soul can bloom into its full beauty and grace. Narayan is the quality that restores.

Narayan and Pran Sutra words are in the original language of Gurmukhi. Narayan was written by Guru Arjan, 5th Guru of the Sikh faith. Pran Sutra words are from the hymn Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur, composed by Satta and Balwand, bards from the court of Guru Ram Das, 4th Guru of the Sikh faith. Both hymns are found in the Sikh scripture, Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

The Narayan Shabad (sacred hymn) was composed by the fifth Guru of the Sikh faith, Guru Arjan, who was also a great musician. This hymn is a part of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikh faith. The word Shabad, deconstructed, means “which cuts the limits of ego.”

Narayan is one of the many different names for the Divine. It relates to the quality of water. As a plant needs water for its flowers to blossom, in the same way chanting Narayan nurtures the Divine Identity within you so that your soul can bloom into its full beauty and grace. Narayan is the quality that restores. It allows life to become fresh, lush and green again. Narayan also can defend against the power of death. In Hindu mythology, Narayan was pictured as half-man, half lion, who was a protector of the humble, righteous and pure.

Yogi Bhajan gave the recitation of this shabad, as a meditation for people to cut through the muck of the Maya and get clear,within themselves. He also said that it shall give, to whomever shall sing it, the amalgamation, merger and oneness with God.

A Lecture by Yogi Bhajan, about the Narayan Shabad can be found at this link: http://www.sikhnet.com/news/call-sing-narayan-shabd

Narayan

Gond Mehlaa. Rag Gond, Fifth House Naam Niranjan Neer Naraa-in. The Name of the Immaculate Lord is the Ambrosial Water. Rasnaa Simrat Paap Bilaa-in||1|| Rahaa-o. Chanting it with the tongue, sins are washed away.||1||Pause||

Naaraa-in Man Maahi Adhaar. Within my mind is the Support of the Lord. Naaraa-in Bohith Sansaar. The Lord is the boat to cross over the world-ocean. Naaraa-in Kahat Jam Bhaag Palaa-in. Chant the Lord’s Name, and the Messenger of Death will run away. Naaraa-in Dant Bhaanay Daa-in. ||2|| The Lord breaks the teeth of Maya, the witch.

Naaraa-in Sad Sad Bakhsind. The Lord is forever and ever the Forgiver. Naaraa-in Keenay Sookh Anand. The Lord blesses us with peace and bliss. Naaraa-in Pargat Keeno Partaap. The Lord has revealed His glory. Naaraa-in Sant Ko Maa-ee Baap.||3|| The Lord is the mother and father of His Saint.

Naaraa-in Saadh sang Naraa-in. The Lord is in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. Baaran Baar Naraa-in Gaa-in. Time and time again, I sing the Lord’s Praises. Basat Agochar Gur Mil Lahee. Meeting with the Guru, I have attained the incomprehensible object. Naaraa-in Ot Naanak Daas Gahee. ||4||17||19|| Slave Nanak has grasped the Support of the Lord.

Pran Sutra

Naanak Too Lehnaa Too Hai; Gur Amar Too Veechaari-aa. You are Nanak, You are Angad, and You are Amar Daas; so do I recognize You through deep meditation.

Dhan Dhan Raamdaas Gur Jin Siri-aa Tinai Savaari-aa. Blessed, blessed is the court of Guru Raam Daas; The One who has created You, has adorned You.

These words are from the shabad Dhan Dhan Raamdaas Gur, Jin Siri-aa Tinai Savaari-aa Vaar Of Raamkalee, Uttered By Satta And Balwand, the drummer

About the Pran Sutra

This recording of the Pran (life force, in the breath) Sutra (sentence or statement of infinite wisdom) is a musically journey of passing from this earth, and was inspired by a lecture Yogi Bhajan gave, during Woman’s Camp in the 1980’s, on the process of how we die, and the journey a soul makes from this earthly plane to the next place, beyond life as we know it. He gave the practice of the Pran Sutra, as a tool to help us prepare for the moment when we take our last breath, and the steps we will walk on the journey to our eternal home.

When friends of mine first heard this music, they thought it was very spooky. So a bit about the musical sound journey, you are hearing:

The first sounds are when the soul is withdrawing through the 7th Chakra, after the breath and prana has ceased. It is slightly out of tune and is somewhat disoriented, as we might be, in the initial adjustment to no longer being alive. Then there is whispering of the sutra, which represents the subtle bodyself, that carries the soul out.

Yogi Bhajan said that every single incident of our entire life will come before us, in this moment. Because our minds have the ingrained habit of judging ourselves, we often condemn ourselves and our actions.

Purpose of Practicing the Pran Sutra

We need to remember that our souls made a beautiful covenant with the Divine to come here, and with the sound current of these words, created about the Gurus who lived moment to moment, in deep meditative states of Oneness with the Creator. By resounding the words of the Pran Sutra at this point, we are in essence, handing over the video of our life, and saying to this lineage of teachers, “my life was in your hands, and was of your choosing - now you make the call, and take care of putting my affairs in proper order.”

You will also hear a windy whistling - the icy path. The Siri Singh Sahib also spoke about an icy path that our souls would journey on, and that we would see our relatives beckoning us to join them, like little taverns that would look warm and welcoming. But he said that our impulse is to look for a light outside ourselves to go towards, but instead to just follow the light of our own soul, on the icy path. He also mentioned going through a sort of tunnel. Then he lightheartedly commented, “then you can have a breakfast with God.”

The musical scale in which these words are sung, is unusual to the Western ear. It is an Eastern raga scale called Todi. Historically, in Indian classical music, this scale was sung in the courts of kings and emperors. I wanted music which would be properly and traditionally respect the heavenly court of Guru Ram Das, the other Gurus, and the Throne of Raj Yoga that was bestowed upon him and this lineage.

I chose this scale, because it is very beautiful, but unknown to the Western ear. People are uncomfortable with change and frequently fearful of what they don’t know and are unfamiliar with. A major key in spiritually journeying into finding our deeper selves, and expanding our consciousness is to practice leaning into what we don’t know, or are unfamiliar with, without fear. In fact, one of the only constants on Earth, is that change and transformation are inevitable. Hearing sounds repeatedly that are unfamiliar can help create new pathways in the brain - like learning a new exercises or, in this case, a yoga of sound.

Sat Kartar Kaur Khalsa's offerings of music synthesize Eastern and Western influences, but are centered in her life study and practice of Sikh Kirtan and Kundalini and Naad Yoga (the yoga to access the inner Sound). Her vocal style ranges from ethereal mystic space created in her Indian classical raga recordings, to groove-driven interpretations of chants, songs, and stories.

Sat Kartar Khalsa has been teaching, facilitating, recording, and performing chant music and devotional kirtan (music sung in call and response style) for almost 30 years. Her personal journey with these potent spiritual tools was initially orchestrated, in 1971, when she stumbled upon Kundalini and Naad Yoga, Indian classical music, and Sikhism, and became a student of her spiritual teacher, Yogi Bhajan.

Her childhood was full of music. Both parents played piano and her father frequently performed at parties and restaurants. There was music around of every kind--musicals, standards, and classical music. Sat Kartar played piano at 5, guitar at 14, and picked out everything on piano and guitar, from the Beatles to the Spanish classical "Malaguena".

She trained in ballet, and other dance forms. In college, she was gigging, doing covers of singer-songwriters and folk artists. One big influence was Joni Mitchell, whose open tunings and unusual melodies were a doorway and vicarious permission to explore uncharted territory, musically. Trying to find her lyric voice to express the rising spiritual revolution she felt, in this time, she tried a Kundalini yoga class, hoping for some kind of release from songwriter's block.

Sat Kartar recalls, " My first experience of chanting was being mezmerized with the sound of this yoga teacher, named Livtar Singh, who was singing these words over and over to someone named Guru Ram Das (a spirit guide in the Sikh faith) while playing a drone instrument called a tamboura. " I felt as though I had opened Pandora's Box on a mysterious unknown world of sound." Sat Kartar went on to sing in 2 Sikh spiritual bands, Sat Nam East, one of the first American chant groups, and later the Khalsa String Band.

In the mid-seventies, she began what would be a life study of Northern Indian classical kirtan, with numerous Sikh musicians, called Ragis ( who sing devotionally in Eastern raga scales). "I wanted to bring the enchantment of this world of music to an American audience in a simpler, sensuous form, so Westerners could appreciate the haunting beauty of these ancient scales." In 1984 and '85, collaborating with veteran New Age producer Liv Khalsa, they created 2 timelessly beautiful recordings, "Spirit in Blossom" and "Domain of Shiva," a group of hymns from the sacred Sikh texts, containing 4 raga scales. Symphonically orchestrated and ahead of its time, this music found a new audience, in the early stages of the World and New Age Music movement.

After a period of personal transitions, Sat Kartar's quest for spiritual musical expression found form in a genre of dance electronica, then called Trance House. A chance meeting with musician-producers Akinchina Das and Lalita Dasi, whose background was also Indian classical, turned out to be instant musical chemistry, and the techno group Overlords of the UFO was born. Their vinyl EPs "Imagine" and "Transcendental Overdrive, released in 1994 and 1997 respectively, drew critical acclaim in the international dance and DJ market.

In 2002, Sat Kartar released a CD of chants for starting the day called "Daily Practice" Many spiritual paths have this pre-dawn regime of chants, called sadhana. Produced by Dan Charnas, the soaring gutsy side of her voice is backed with a world music potpourri of djembe, guitar, bass, tamboura, and temple bells. She and her band began extensively touring the Southwest with this CD, and garnered a regional following.

Most recently Sat Kartar teamed with producer Thomas Barquee for her most recent work, FLOW. This CD is more orchestrated and has a pop feel, and includes mantras never before recorded."This recording was a journey of faith into my heart," Khalsa says."I want to live my life more from that place." Come and enjoy Sat Kartar and her band on the road this year and next, with their live kirtan concerts and workshops.